FIGURES THAT SHOW THEY’VE GOT IT SO WRONG

THE bleak assessment from the IPPR and Archbishop Welby clashes with evidence of economic prosperity and narrowing inequality in Britain:

Jobs are being created at an unprecedented rate. Three quarters of adults are in work, the highest level since 1971, and 338,000 people joined the workforce last year, leaving 768,000 vacancies.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the gap between rich and poor was smaller than a decade ago. Since 2007, incomes of the bottom 10 per cent had grown by nearly 8 per cent and average earnings by 4 per cent. The top 10 per cent’s income fell.

The World Bank says inequality in Britain is lower than that in France, Italy, Canada or Australia.

Official figures don’t back the claim that a large minority of people live in poverty. The Office for National Statistics says nearly 15 per cent of people were poor at some point between 2012 and 2015 – but fewer than 5 per cent were poor all that time, meaning those who divorce or lose a job can be thrown into poverty but rebound quickly.

The ONS says that in the financial year ending in 2016 the average household income was £26,300, up in a year by £600. Accounting for inflation, this is £1,000 more than in the year before the 2008 recession.